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The Problem Of Chronic Pain

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Chronic pain has burdened its victims with major difficulties that often span beyond the physical discomfort to psychological, social, and economic well-being (1). The prevalence of non-cancerous chronic pain in Europeans ranges from 8%-60% across many studies involving different methods and populations. Nearly 1 in 4 adults in Europe report experiencing chronic pain which affects their daily lives (1) and 30% of Americans report chronic pain (2). In particular, 1% of all individuals in the developed world experience rheumatoid arthritis and these rates are growing with an increasingly older and less healthy population (3). While many studies have focused on the medical aspects of chronic pain, it is a crucial responsibility of medical …show more content…

Although anxiety and depression are common among chronic pain patients seeking medical care, they are often hard to detect (4).
In order to ensure the most comprehensive patient care and satisfaction, it is critical to investigate physician and patient interactions during a medical consultation (4–6). Recent research suggests outcomes are related to communication (7,8). Physicians need to be aware not to discourage patients from sharing sensitive information while still conducting the medical aspects of the consultation. Typically, the medical aspects dominate the consultation so it is not surprising that patients wishing to talk about particular worries or concerns give somewhat indirect or underlying cues or “clues” which are hard to detect (4). Some studies show that patient satisfaction is not affected by physician reaction to cues and concerns (9), while others have found the opposite--that indeed responsiveness is related to patient satisfaction (10). If we can better understand patient communication-- whether explicit or implied, --we will have a greater ability to understand how physicians can best communicate in consultation to guide the patient to disclose concerns (11).
Although it is understood that a physician’s ability to communicate has a great effect on the patient, the training in this area is still deficient (5,12). Medical students are more likely to give

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